Are California Prisons Punishing Inmates Based on Race? - Response

On twitter in Prison Watch Network (@Prisonwatchint) I stumbled upon an interesting tweet talking about how cells in California have a color coded based on race.  They have “colored signs” that hang on each cell door.  These signs are used to indicate each race, whether it’s black, white, Hispanic or other.  This system is used to penalize inmates of the same race when one of them assaults a guard.  California is the only state that we know of that uses race-based prisons.  The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation says that this is the only way to control gang members because they unite depending on skin color. Instead of controlling the entire race, they should punish the gang members who started the assault. What impressed me the most was the color coded prison doors and classification of races. I couldn’t believe how racism still persists in such a way. Tweeter is a good gate way of information and social media. I am actually impressed, because one of the reason I do not have many social medias is because there was nothing interesting to look at or read.

Anti-Islamic Hate Crimes Incidents

 The Anti-Islamic Hate Crime Incidents chart represent that throughout 1995 to 2000 there were a fewer haters. In 2001 there was an airplane attack on the World Trade Center that destroyed them completely. In the chart it strongly indicates that in the year of that attack there was a massive increase. The terrorist who destroyed them where Islamic, therefor there was a big crowd of people who unapproved Islam. After five years later the percentage was still high and the chart clearly demonstrate how that impact damaged the United States’ society way of thinking towards the Islam community. It quadrupled or even more the number of Anti-Islamic Crime incidents after 9-11 in the 2001. In the 2007 it started decreasing up to the 2008. When 9-11 occurred, many controversies roused indicating it was not a terrorist attack and that is was the US government. Ten years later and I still do not know what to believe.  But still the impact it cause to society changed many things for example how people relate to Muslims or Islam because they have a turban or how TSA in the airports changed drastically. The attacks were because of anger or fear.

Akeem Qadeer's blog respone

I am responding a blog from Akeem’s Bloggy.  I agree completely when Qadeer argues about the difference between the northern and southern hemisphere.  It is true; in the north they were much more violent than they were in South America, Cuba, Spain or Portugal. “Negro slaves” in the south in a way they had to pay a debt to its owner and some I believe were set free after they finished their work (Qadeer).  Now a day’s slavery still exists in a way because America still has that racial background.  Qadeer was born in Guyana and lets the reader now that there are still racial conflicts. I am from Puerto Rico and it is exactly the same, but the tension is stronger between social classes and the areas where you were raised not so much against “skin color” (Qadeer).  I would advise Qadeer to re-write this paragraph adding more supporting ideas either from the book or another source and to stick with his main argument which is the two different areas that existed during slavery and maybe compare them either politically, legally or morally. 

Supporting Arguments: Slave and Citizen

After the Civil War, Negros were emancipated from their slavery.  They mostly had their freedom, but not for the white man that morally did not let go.  Tannenbaum claims that the Negro was kept isolated and looked down at and were never truly considered “a free moral agent” (Tannenbaum 97).  Even though African Americans at that time were legally free, white folks still kept them on the shadows.  Society itself still did not grant them the freedom, respect and position in society they deserved.  I believe some members of today’s society are still unconsciously repeating action of the events that took in the 1400’s because of their disgrace upon the minority, for example.  It has brought new generation of mental slavery and ignorance.

Back then when revolution emerged, it was an expected impact, I presume because of the categorization it was put out on the African Americans. “The abolition of slavery in the United States was cataclysmic and violent just because it seemed so eternal, so faultless, just because the gap the Negro and white man had been made so impassable and so absolute that it could not be bridged by any means of transition, by natural growth and adaption” (Tannenbaum 109).  Tannenbaum's argument is that African Americans have endured and suffered for too long and because of the separation between the races it was catastrophic and violent.  On the one hand, he argues that the only way a white man could accept the free Negro was “to prove the greatest handicap”.  Since that is not the moral way to seek peace and approval the war had to happen. On the other hand, Tannenbaum acknowledges that “the Negro started the Civil war with nothing at all” and that it is something we should never forget (Tannenbaum 113). The main point is that white men should have appreciated what African Americans did for them and they should not have labeled them as slaves from the beginning.  Now and then I wonder what would it be like to live in a community where there is no stereotypes, judgment, misunderstanding, or discrimination among us.